February 26th 2pm-3:30pm EDT: The ADVANCE program office will hold a technical assistance webinar on preparing proposals for the new ADVANCE solicitation NSF 19-552. More information on the webinar and the link to register can be found under NSF events ADVANCE Program - proposal preparation technical assistance webinar. A recorded version of the webinar will be linked here about one week after the webinar.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the ADVANCE solicitation NSF 19-552 are now available. Please review for potential answers to your questions related to the solicitation.

ADVANCE Program Information

The ADVANCE program seeks to develop systemic approaches to increase the participation and advancement of women in academic STEM careers. For more information on the program, please view the ADVANCE brochure here.

A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 18-1), is
effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 29, 2018. Please be advised that, depending
on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 18-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this
funding opportunity.

DUE DATES

Letter of Intent Deadline Date

May 15, 2019

Letter of Intent due for May 2019 Adaptation and Partnership competition

November 1, 2019

Letter of Intent for January 2020 Adaptation and Partnership competition

Preliminary Proposal Target Date

October 1, 2019

Target Date for IT-Preliminary proposals - preliminary proposals are only required for IHEs that want a chance to submit a full Institutional Transformation proposal

Full Proposal Deadline Date

May 22, 2019

Adaptation and Partnership (FY 2019 competition)

June 3, 2019

Catalyst proposals

January 15, 2020

Adaptation and Partnership (FY 2020 competition)

SYNOPSIS

The NSF ADVANCE program contributes to the National Science Foundation's goal of a more diverse and capable science and engineering workforce.[1] In this solicitation, the NSF ADVANCE program seeks to build on prior NSF ADVANCE work and other research and literature concerning gender, racial, and ethnic equity. The NSF ADVANCE program goal is to broaden the implementation of evidence-based systemic change strategies that promote equity for STEM [2] faculty in academic workplaces and the academic profession. The NSF ADVANCE program provides grants to enhance the systemic factors that support equity and inclusion and to mitigate the systemic factors that create inequities in the academic profession and workplaces. Systemic (or organizational) inequities may exist in areas such as policy and practice as well as in organizational culture and climate. For example, practices in academic departments that result in the inequitable allocation of service or teaching assignments may impede research productivity, delay advancement, and create a culture of differential treatment and rewards. Similarly, policies and procedures that do not mitigate implicit bias in hiring, tenure, and promotion decisions could lead to women and racial and ethnic minorities being evaluated less favorably, perpetuating historical under-participation in STEM academic careers and contributing to an academic climate that is not inclusive.

All NSF ADVANCE proposals are expected to use intersectional approaches in the design of systemic change strategies for STEM faculty in recognition that gender, race and ethnicity do not exist in isolation from each other and from other categories of social identity. The solicitation includes four funding tracks Institutional Transformation(IT), Adaptation, Partnership, and Catalyst, in support of the NSF ADVANCE program goal to broaden the implementation of systemic strategies that promote equity for STEM faculty.

Please note that NSF ADVANCE does not provide fellowships, research, or travel grants to individual students, postdoctoral researchers, or faculty to pursue STEM degrees or research. Undergraduate STEM opportunities can be found at stemundergrads.science.gov and graduate STEM opportunities at stemgradstudents.science.gov.